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Feb. 11, 2019 | Bob Boilen -- There's a magical aura that surrounds Lau Noah as she sits behind my desk and embraces her guitar with one foot propped unnaturally high on a stool. As melodies pour from the strings, she sings these words in Spanish: "On the verge of the soul, there is a red petal, attached to the skins of mortals." A few lines later in the song she continues, "a fragile petal that drinks the water of the most cruel stories: children who have never heard a fairytale, lovers who love, dressed in regret." This is the sort of poetic tale that captured my heart amongst the thousands of entries I watched during the Tiny Desk Contest in 2018. Her song she submitted for the contest is called "La Realidad."

Lau Noah's journey as a songwriter and guitarist occurred by happenstance. She was born in Reus, Spain barely a few hours drive from Barcelona. She speaks and now sings in Catalan, Spanish, English and sometimes Hebrew. She'd played piano growing up (never guitar) and left Spain for New York City five years ago while in her late teens.

On a visit to Montreal in 2016, Lau hoped to go to a Patrick Watson concert with friends. But the performance sold out and she was left alone in an apartment while her friends went to the show. Then a snowstorm ensued. The apartment had two guitars and, with nothing else to do, she picked one up and began to play. She wrote her first song, "Pequitas," which means "Little Freckles." Now, not too many years later, her creativity on both classical guitar, her narrative poetry and the singing of that poetry make the musician Lau Noah a unique spirit.

Before she played her final song, "Red Bird," at the Tiny Desk, she quoted Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, from his novel Don Quixote: "When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies," Lau said, reading from her notes. "Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams is madness. And maddest of all: to see life as it is and not as it should be."

Lau Noah herself writes the kinds of story-songs that provoke that sort of thought, so we've included translations for you to fully enjoy her vision.

Set List
"El Jardinero (The Gardener)"
"La Realidad (The Reality)"
"L'Adéu (The Goodbye)"
"La Belleza (The Beauty)"
"Red Bird"

Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kimani Oletu; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter; Photo: Amr Alfiky/NPR

Sept. 13, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- Lookman Adekunle Salami, who writes and records as L.A. Salami, is a storyteller and a poet. His songs are deliberate meanderings on the mundane and the poignancy in everyday life. And in the way Bob Dylan took his guitar and harmonica to accompany his rarely repeating ramblings, L.A Salami embraces a similar aesthetic, albeit as a black Englishman instead of a white Minnesotan.

His opening song at the Tiny Desk, "Day to Day (For 6 Days a Week)," runs about six minutes, with over 600 words. He seems to rattle them all off effortlessly, with compelling, complicated rhymes that never repeat and phrases such as:

"Went to work for the NHS -

Mental health, people depressed.

Met Joanne - Scared of living,

Afraid of dying, terrified of being.

Then met Paul, a schizophrenic,

Shaking limbs, paranoid fanatic -

Unwashed 10 days in a row -

So afraid almost paralytic."

L.A. Salami released one of my favorite albums of 2016, Dancing With Bad Grammar, which was produce by Matt Ingram, known for his creative work with artists as diverse as Laura Marling and FKA Twigs. So if you have a penchant for broadside ballads, and observations of our times reflected through the mind of a brilliant songwriter, take a look at L.A. Salami.

Set List

"Day To Day (For 6 Days A Week)"

"Terrorism (The ISIS Crisis)"

"My Thoughts, They Too Will Tire"

Musician

Lookman Adekunle Salami (vocals, guitars, harmonicas)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographer: Morgan Noelle Smith; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Sept. 12, 2017 | Jacob Ganz -- Two songs into his Tiny Desk concert, Jack Antonoff revealed a bit of stagecraft behind his performances with Bleachers.

"My manager says, 'When you play for 1,000 people, don't talk to one person. It's only cool for them,'" Antonoff said. It was offered as an apology — he had just finished aiming a monologue about the link between dancing and crying at a single NPR staffer in the audience — but it was also a perfect encapsulation of the connection Antonoff's songs create. Bleachers makes truly conversational pop, songs that sound expansive but retain a sense of intimacy, even when aimed at the masses.

At the Tiny Desk, Antonoff, along with pianist Mikey Hart and multi-instrumentalist Evan Smith, pared away much of the pomp that can turn Antonoff's layered studio productions into neon-lit melodramas rollercoastering toward catharsis. On three songs from this year's album Gone Now impeccably re-arranged for a smaller space, it was impossible to miss the cracked longing at the heart of Antonoff's work.

"If you ever see Bleachers live, it's two drum sets and it's big and it's kinda like this big statement that I could hide behind the tears with this big rock show. But the songs are written like this," Antonoff said before launching into a version of the '80s-drenched single "Don't Take The Money" that was all feathery keyboards and spoken word verses — plus a brief quote from Queen's 1984 hit "Radio Ga Ga. "

Not that he could resist a well-placed gimmick. "Don't Take The Money" was the only song of the day to include drum sounds, which came from a cassette tape in a boom box over which a microphone had been draped. He started the song by hitting play on the cassette, but it took three tries to nail the ending in time with Hart. For this group, seeing the flaws is part of the charm.

Set List

"Everybody Lost Somebody"
"Don't Take the Money"
"Foreign Girls"

MUSICIANS

Jack Antonoff (vocals, keys); Evan Smith (vocals, keys, sax); Mikey Hart (vocals, piano)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Colin Marshall, Tsering Bista; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

MUSICIANS
Amelia Meath: vocals; Nick Sanborn: chord organ; Jenn Wasner: piano


CREDITS
Recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC
Produced by Sylvan Esso
Mixed and Engineered by Jon Ashley
Mastered by Evan Bradford

VIDEO CREW
Production Company: Remedy; Director: Josh Sliffe; DP: Rob Russell; Gaffer: Brian DeContreras; Camera Operators: Rob Russell, Josh Sliffe, Brian DeContreras

http://www.sylvanesso.com
http://www.lomavistarecordings.com

Follow Sylvan Esso:
Spotify: http://found.ee/SE_Spotify-1
Facebook: http://found.ee/SE_facebook
Twitter: http://found.ee/SE_twitter
Instagram: http://found.ee/SE_instagram
Soundcloud: http://found.ee/SE_soundcloud

MUSICIANS
Matt Douglas: saxophone; Ryan Gustafson: guitar; Amelia Meath: vocals; Nick Sanborn: keys; Molly Sarle: vocals; Alexandra Sauser-Monnig: vocals; Jenn Wasner: bass; Joe Westerlund: drums

CREDITS
Recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC
Produced by Sylvan Esso
Mixed and Engineered by Jon Ashley
Mastered by Evan Bradford

VIDEO CREW
Production Company: Remedy; Director: Josh Sliffe; DP: Rob Russell; Gaffer: Brian DeContreras; Camera Operators: Rob Russell, Josh Sliffe, Brian DeContreras

http://www.sylvanesso.com
http://www.lomavistarecordings.com

Follow Sylvan Esso:
Spotify: http://found.ee/SE_Spotify-1
Facebook: http://found.ee/SE_facebook
Twitter: http://found.ee/SE_twitter
Instagram: http://found.ee/SE_instagram
Soundcloud: http://found.ee/SE_soundcloud

Bob Boilen | Aug 2, 2017 - The high-energy blast that musicians often reserve for their finale is the starting point for Diet Cig.

The band's boundless, leaping pop is exhilarating and pleasantly exhausting to watch, with drummer Noah Bowman propelling the high kicks and constant pogo bounce of guitarist and singer Alex Luciano. With a candied voice, she sings of being on the cusp of adolescence — but underneath that bright veneer Alex sings truth to power, and about what it means to be a punk in a skirt, dealing with disrespectful souls. "I think you're the kind of guy / who would meet me at a party / and forget my name / and try to take me home all the same," she sings on "Sixteen."

These songs, which crackle like Pop Rocks — and in this case stomp, as Alex dances on my desk — retain a simple fun that makes them memorable, without undermining their gravity.

Swear I'm Good At This is available now.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/swe...

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Swear-Im-Good-...


Set List

"Sixteen"
"Tummy Ache"
"Harvard"

Musicians

Alex Luciano (vocals, guitar); Noah Bowman (drums)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker, Bronson Arcuri; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista; PA: Morgan Noelle Smith; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

Sept. 8, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- When I listened blindly to nearly a thousand songs while attempting to make my schedule of bands to see at this year's SXSW music festival, one of the few tracks that leapt to the top was "Arizona" by Frances Cone. I wasn't alone. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson also singled out this now Brooklyn-based band for the way it wraps its storytelling in a catchy, pop parcel.

Led by singer and songwriter Christina Cone, the band is set to release Late Riser, its second full-length album, later this year. The first track the group performed for this Tiny Desk concert is its just-released single, "Unraveling," a tale of falling apart, of life becoming so overwhelming that the song's character simply stops and lets go.

With each verse of "Unraveling" the saga builds to a climax and then a calm. It's this sort of craft that makes Frances Cone stand out. Think Lucius, another band that captured my attention years ago for similar reasons. In fact, Dan Molad, the drummer and producer for Lucius, mixed that first Frances Cone song that grabbed my attention, "Arizona." This is wonderfully literate pop that won't hit you over the head, but might gently find a home in your heart.

Set List

"Unraveling"
"Arizona"
"Leave Without You"

Musicians

Christina Cone (keys, vocals); Andrew Doherty (electric bass, electric guitar, vocals); Adam Melchor (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals); Alex Baron (drums)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista; PA: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Oct. 2, 2017 | Lars Gotrich -- Paramore's After Laughter captures the moment between rapture and its comedown, the glitter wiped away, left with skin rubbed raw. It's a record, more than a decade into the band's career, that not only exposes the sparkling pop that's always lit Paramore's songs, but also deals with the ache of growing up and growing apart. When Hayley Williams sings, "Tell my friends I'm coming down / We'll kick it when I hit the ground" from the '80s-tastic jam "Hard Times" at the Tiny Desk, the stark dichotomy is laid bare by the band's stripped-down performance that still packs a small synth and Zac Farro's drum machine into its Afro-pop-flecked textures.

Backed here only by guitarist Taylor York, "26" is Williams' letter to a younger self, to still believe in dreams, knowing its costs. Paramore's quieter songs have never quite shown this depth of understated devastation and determination, and Williams reflects that nuance in a voice that scales the end of the line, "And they say that dreaming is free," with just the slightest trail of regret.

These songs extend After Laughter's themes, racing across the spectrum of hope, with "Fake Happy" as a soaring anthem to expressing your truest self (and calling out those playing pretend). At the Tiny Desk, the shimmering guitars and synths almost become tropical, as if the band's all taken a big swig of Drake's "Passionfruit" and started a lowkey jam among friends.

Set List

"Hard Times"
"26"
"Fake Happy"

MUSICIANS

Hayley Williams (vocals), Taylor York (guitar), Zac Farro (drum machine), Logan MacKenzie (keys), Joseph Howard (bass), Justin York (guitar)

CREDITS

Producers: Lars Gotrich Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Niki Walker, Maia Stern, Alyse Young; Production Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Christina Ascani/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Nov. 3, 2017 | Suraya Mohamed -- Rhythm is the foundation for many a musical experience. Its driving pulse yields a power that quite often demands movement - a toe to tap, a body to sway. But drummer Nate Smith provides more than just a beat. He intentionally weaves nuanced rhythmic counterpoint in and out of his catchy melodies and dulcet harmonies.

Just try to discern the multiple time signatures in the first tune, "Skip Step" Syncopated yet steady, its rhythmic motifs bolster Jon Cowherd's keyboard riff and the song's melodic statement, played in unison by saxophonist Jaleel Shaw and guitarist Jeremy Most.

The quintet slides right into "Retold," a beautiful song with a nostalgic melody that suggests a quiet moment for personal reflection and self-discovery. On "Pages," Smith welcomed vocalist Amma Whatt to the stage (so to speak). She wrote the lyrics for Smith's 2017 album Kinfolk: Postcards From Everywhere, his first eponymous record after a 15-year career performing with other jazz artists like Chris Potter and Dave Holland.

What really impressed the audience was the performance of Smith's self described "short but angry" final tune, "Rambo: The Vigilante." Hypnotized by its shifting time signatures, this fusion jam is punctuated with a haunting rock lick played simultaneously by the entire band, and seamlessly aligned with Smith's dazzling display of dexterous genius.

Set List

"Skip Step"
"Retold"
"Pages"
"Rambo: The Vigilante"

Musicians

Nate Smith (drums); Jaleel Shaw (saxophone); Amma Whatt (vocals); Fima Ephron (bass); Jon Cowherd (keyboard); Jeremy Most (guitar)

Credits

Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Producers: Suraya Mohamed, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Niki Walker, Nicholas Garbaty, Alyse Young; Editor: Niki WalkerProduction Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

'When You Gonna Get A Real Job': Philip Glass And Devonté Hynes Compare Notes

by THOMAS HUIZENGA

At first glance, Devonté Hynes and Philip Glass might appear like musical opposites. Hynes, the 31-year-old British producer and songwriter who performs under the name Blood Orange, makes hit records with Solange and Carly Rae Jepson. Glass, the 80-year-old Baltimore-born New Yorker who writes operas and film scores, is one of classical music's legendary artists.

But walk into Hynes' third floor loft in New York's Chinatown and you'll find a photo of Glass on his piano. Hynes, it turns out, is a fan. He discovered Glass' music by chance as a London teenager, when he bought the 1982 album Glassworks on the strength of its crystalline cover image alone. What he heard after he brought it home transfixed him. Today, he says Glass' influence "seeps" into his music — the interlocking marimba parts in "Best to You" or the feather light ostinato that ignites "Better Than Me." Last year, he surprised a few ears when he played excerpts from Glass' solo piano suite Metamorphosis during a live session on SiriusXM.

This spring, Hynes invited Glass to his apartment where they sat at a piano, compared chords and traded stories. Ninety minutes later, their wide ranging conversation had touched on the pulse of New York City, the pains of striking out on your own as a musician, what role the arts play in society today and Hamilton. Plus about a hundred other ideas.

Perhaps the most potent virtue Hynes and Glass share is an instinctive ear for collaboration. Glass has worked with everyone from Ravi Shankar and Paul Simon to dozens of filmmakers, dancers, poets and visual artists. Hynes moves adroitly, too. These days he pairs up with Sky Ferreira, FKA Twigs, Haim and ballet dancer Maria Kochetkova, but in his teens he joined a dance-punk band named Test Icicles, then moved on to the quirky folk-pop of Lightspeed Champion.

Maybe it's that willingness to let something unknown percolate into a new idea. And maybe that's why these two musicians, some 50 years apart in age, decided to meet on a cloudy April afternoon in Chinatown to let yet another intriguing collaboration blossom.

Sept. 15, 2017 | Lars Gotrich -- Snail Mail's sleepy songs have a way of waking you up. They rumble at a steady pace like a scrappy rock band playing to a small room, but then Lindsey Jordan, who just graduated from high school this past spring, drops a line like, "So if you look death right in the face, don't thank him / Because there's nothing and there won't ever be." You can feel the room nod in solidarity, and you could feel the NPR Music office do the same when Snail Mail performed "Slug."

Encouraged by punks in the Baltimore scene, Jordan started Snail Mail at 15 and released the quietly stunning Habit EP via Priests' in-house label last year. She's quickly found fans in Helium and Ex Hex's Mary Timony (who also happens to be Jordan's guitar teacher) and just went on tour with Waxahatchee and Palehound. Oh, and she once made blueberry pancakes with me on a short-lived NPR cooking show because clearly my kitchen is the path to success.

Jordan's joined in this performance by what's become her consistent live band (drummer Ray Brown and bassist Alex Russell), giving weight to both "Slug" and the soaring coming-of-age anthem "Thinning." Because we often ask bands to turn down for the office space, she jokes, "I guess I don't really know what we sound like because we're so loud. Now we're quiet and Ray's using the mallets and my guitar's all the way down — I was like, 'We sound like this?'"

Jordan closes the set solo with a new song, "Anytime." It is, perhaps typically for Snail Mail, slow and sad, but the alternate guitar tuning and Jordan's drawled vocal performance gives this song about a crush an aerial motion, like acrobats sliding down a long sheet of fabric.

Habit is out now via Sister Polygon. Snail Mail goes on tour with Beach Fossils in October.

Set List

"Slug"
"Thinning"
"Anytime"

MUSICIANS

Lindsey Jordan (electric guitar, vocals); Raymond Brown (drums); Alex Russell (bass)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineers: James Willetts, Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista; Production Assistant: Marissa Lorusso; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Oct. 20, 2017 | Abby O'Neil -- Mr. Lif and Akrobatik are two emcees whose names rock bells among true hip-hop heads. The duo of Boston natives first teamed up as The Perceptionists in the early aughts to release Black Dialogue on El-P's Def Jux label in 2005. Their side project went into indefinite hiatus soon afterward, but now Lif and Akrobatik are reunited on their new LP, Resolution. While Lif has been touring and writing with downtempo icons Thievery Corporation for the greater part of the last seven years, Akrobatik's last solo album (2014's Built To Last) rightfully received a warm reception from critics and connoisseurs.

Their conscious ethos is perfectly encapsulated by Ak's lyrical run on "A Different Light," where he raps: "But I'm above all of the melodrama / When they go low / We go high / Michelle Obama." The song tells the story of Ak's near-death experience with a pernicious aortic dissection, as well as the betrayal of a close friend during his convalescence. Akrobatik took the high road, and that ironclad stoicism lights the path for this crew. On the same track, Lif laments love lost while rhyming his way to healing catharsis following an unmanageable heartbreak.

With sharp, heartfelt lyricism, The Perceptionists critique the current political climate on "Out Of Control" and rhyme about the symbiotic human relationship with technology on "Lemme Find Out." In a world that often appears to be spiraling out of control, their Tiny Desk set provides a much-needed breather.

Set List

"Out of Control"
"Lemme Find Out"
"A Different Light"
"Early Morning"

MUSICIANS

Tommy Benedetti (drums); Van Gordon Martin (guitar); Lean Thomas (keyboard); Ashish Vyas (bass); Jeffery Haynes (vocals); Jared Bridgeman (vocals)

CREDITS

Producers: Abby O'Neill , Bronson Arcuri; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Morgan Noelle Smith, CJ Riculan, Maia Stern; Production Assistant: Aleli May Vuelta; Photo: Christina Ascani/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

Sept. 21, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- One look at (and listen to) the cross-dressing, Asian rock band SsingSsing and you would hardly think they're singing music inspired by traditional Korean folk. But SsingSsing isn't like any other band I've ever seen or heard.

The group sings a regional folk style called minyo and the gender bending look has to do with shamans not glamour. As singer Hee-moon Lee describes it, "In Korean traditional art, male shamans, called baksu, have the body of a male. But as mediums, they need more than a single sexual identity, because they're channeling both male and female spirits. When I act a female character and sing, I have to overcome the fact of my being a male sorikkun (singer), and try my utmost to bring a more neutral, unisex feeling to the performance. It sounds silly, but I feel like going back to the sensibilities of my youth, when I liked Madonna, helps."

The understated music, the small dramatic gestures and the costumes all combine for one of my most memorable Tiny Desk Concerts of all time.

Set List

"Minyo Medley"
"Nanbongga (Song of Beloveds)"
"Saseol Nanbongga (Narrative Song of Beloveds)"

MUSICIANS

Hee-moon Lee (vocal), Da-hye Choo (vocal), Seung-tae Shin (vocal), Young-gyu Jang (bass guitar), Tae-won Lee (electric guitar), and Chul-hee Lee (drums)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Bronson Arcuri, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Beck Harlan, Kara Frame, Bronson Arcuri; Production Assistant: CJ Riculan; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Oct. 16, 2017 | Stephen Thompson -- The audience for Hanson's first Tiny Desk concert could be cleanly sorted into two distinct camps: the curious and the committed. The curious were the ones who'd inquired about whether the band would play its 1997 smash "MMMBop" (answer: nope), or wondered what Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson have been up to since the '90s (answer: touring constantly, putting out records, starting their own label, raising families, launching a music festival, developing a line of Hanson Brothers-branded "MMMHops" beer). As for the committed? They were psyched.

For those who haven't kept up, Hanson has maintained a lovingly ravenous fan base. The night before this performance, the brothers played to a joyous sold-out crowd at Silver Spring, Maryland's 2,000-capacity Fillmore — and, it turns out, some of those 2,000 folks work at NPR. (A few even had friends fly in for the occasion.) We tried to get the committed as close to the Tiny Desk action as possible, because the vibe in the room was special.

This year marks Hanson's 25th anniversary as a band, and it's been 20 years since the release of Middle of Nowhere, the album that made stars out of the Hansons when Isaac was 16, Taylor was 14 and Zachary was 11. With a greatest-hits collection just out — it's called Middle of Everywhere — this was a perfect time to catch up on a few post-"MMMBop" career highlights. That meant opening with "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" (from 2010's Shout It Out) and ducking back to 2000 for the title track from This Time Around before closing with Hanson's charmingly infectious new single, "I Was Born."

Oh, and as the tagline at the end of the video cryptically notes: "To be continued..." We'll just leave it at that.

Set List

"Thinking 'Bout Somethin'"
"This Time Around"
"I Was Born"

Musicians

Isaac Hanson (guitar, vocals); Taylor Hanson (piano, vocals); Zac Hanson (percussion, vocals)

Credits

Producers: Stephen Thompson, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kara Frame, Alyse Young, Nicholas Garbaty; Production Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

Sept. 25, 2017 | Robin Hilton -- It's hard to think of an artist who's brought more joy to more people, across more generations — and in more ways — than Steve Martin. In the 1970s, he won the hearts of young children for his playful appearances with The Muppets while simultaneously charming legions of older fans with his subversive standup routines. Later, as an actor, he wrote and starred in some of the most memorable comedies (and a few dramas) of all time, while writing books, plays and even a Broadway musical.

Throughout his 50-year career, one constant in Steve Martin's life has been the banjo. It was a staple of his early standup shows and even fans who only wanted to laugh couldn't help but marvel at his playing. Over the years, he's continued to perform and record with country and bluegrass luminaries like Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and others.

These days Martin is working on music full-time. He's just released a stellar bluegrass album he recorded with The Steep Canyon Rangers called (perfectly) The Long-Awaited Album, a record filled with often hilarious story songs and world-class performances.

Martin's set with The Steep Canyon Rangers at the Tiny Desk was at times thrilling, particularly his opening solo for the song "So Familiar." But it was also playful, comical and a joy to witness. At the end of the typical three-song performance, the group graciously decided to do one more called "Caroline," a hilarious, first-person account of how not to handle a breakup.

Set List

"So Familiar"
"All Night Long"
"On The Water"
"Caroline"

Musicians

Steve Martin (banjo, vocals), Woody Platt (guitar, vocals), Mike Ashworth (percussion), Mike Guggino (mandolin), Charles Humphrey (bass), Graham Sharp (banjo, vocals), Nicky Sanders (fiddle)

Credits

Producers: Robin Hilton, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Niki Walker, Bronson Arcuri, Alyse Young; Production Assistant: Beck Harlan; Photo: Christina Ascani/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Oct. 6, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- Landlady's music is more than sonic exploration, it's an adventure. The Brooklyn-based band's songs are the initial creation of leader Adam Schatz, who observes the world with fresh, almost alien eyes. The songs can feel a bit drugged-out – a bit high and full of curiosity – but never overly intoxicated or out-of-touch.

The opening track for Landlady's Tiny Desk performance, "Cadaver," has its origins in a friend of Schatz's who went to medical school, and the years she spent examining a single cadaver over and over and even more specifically about a tattoo on that cadaver's buttocks.

Landlady is also a band of brilliant musicians who carefully craft their playing to serve the songs. Each player on their own might seem to be making quirky sounds or playing odd rhythms, but together they create head-turning tunes.

For their Tiny Desk Concert they came in as a foursome but also recruited the Washington D.C. string quartet, Rogue Collective to flesh-out their sound on the third song, "Electric Abdomen." That cut, which seems to be about being uncomfortable in your own skin, sounds like it came from a long-lost tape from The Beatles during a session for Abbey Road, full of wonder and, like this Tiny Desk performance, worth digging deep into.

Set List

"Cadaver"
"Solid Brass"
"Electric Abdomen"

Musicians

Adam Schatz (keys, vocals); Will Graefe (guitar, vocals); Ryan Dugre (bass, vocals); Ian Chang (drums, vocals); Alexa Cantalupo (violin); Livia Amoruso (violin); Deanna Said (viola); Natalie Spehar (cello)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Bronson Arcuri; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Colin Marshall, Maia Stern, Tsering Bista; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Sept. 29, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- A man in a black cape holds a sitar like a guitar all while singing a dreamy tale about wanting to be a dog. Well actually a "dawg."

Welcome the world of Dawg Yawp, the musical concoction of Rob Keenan and Tyler Randall, where drones and toy pianos are likely to collide with heavy metal electronics and a well-placed melody.

It's also a vessel for humor, experimentation and foot-stomping fun, whether that stomping is to an original techno beat or a classic bluegrass tune. In fact it was the duo's cover of "East Virginia Blues," a song made famous by the Stanley Brothers that first won my heart when I heard them replace the more traditional banjo with a sitar.

These two Cincinnati high school friends create endearing tunes with roots in fingerpicking folk tunes but with a sense of adventure. Listening to their debut, self-titled album is like listening to kids music made for grownups. It's both clever and wonderfully weird. They always put a smile on my face.

Set List

"I Wanna Be A Dawg"
"Can't Think"
"East Virginia Blues"
"Lost At Sea"

MUSICIANS

Tyler Randall (sitar, vocals, guitar, synthesizers, drums); Robert Keenan (guitar, vocals, synthesizers)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith, Bronson Arcuri; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Maia Stern; Editor: Niki Walker; Production Assistant: Marissa Lorusso; Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR.

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Sept. 27, 2017 | Abby O'Neill -- Reggae has long been the most vivid musical escape for me. Its soul-cleansing riddims always feel familiar and cozy, like rushing into your lover's arms after a significant time away. This is especially true for roots reggae, whose staccato guitar licks, billowing bass, and sonic splashes on a canvas of negative space, are like salve for the soul. The mid-tempo pulse varnishes heads with Kool-Aid grins and daydreams of living beachside amid nature's unrestricted beauty.

Given all that, you can understand why I've been obsessed with Chronixx lately. At a time when dancehall has been dominating the Jamaican soundscape, its refreshing to hear the man born Jamar McNaughton carrying the roots-revival torch for a younger generation and expanding upon the footprint left by his world-renowned predecessors.

Chronixx and his band Zincfence Redemption paid a long-awaited visit to the Tiny Desk to perform three songs from his sophomore album, Chronology.


Set List:

"Skankin' Sweet"
"Majesty"
"Spanish Town Rocking"

Musicians:

Jamar McNaughton "Chronixx" (vocals); Evan Mason (keys); Stephen Coore (guitar); N'Namdi Robinson (guitar); Hector Lewis (percussion); Adrian Henry (bass); Oliver Thompson (drums)

Credits:

Producers: Abby O'Neill, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista, Morgan Noelle Smith, Bronson Arcuri; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

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Bob Boilen | July 28, 2017 -- Intensity in songs often expresses itself as volume – a loud guitar, a scream, a piercing synth line. But in the case of Aldous Harding it's in the spaces, the pauses, and her unique delivery. Watch her Tiny Desk Concert and you can see this in her facial expressions and body posture.

The first song she performs,"Imagining My Man," is about what she calls the "tender and frightening thoughts that come with being in love," and what you witness while watching her are often painful, pensive expressions that are as important to the song as the notes being played.

Aldous Harding is a singer from New Zealand who's inspired by British folk singer Vashti Bunyan, but making something truly unique and her own. Party, her second album, is full of deeply personal songs with memorable melodies and spare instrumentation that linger in my head long after the headphone batteries have drained. It'll certainly be a favorite on my year-end list.

Aldous Harding's musical partner for the Tiny Desk is Jared Samuel, a keyboardist who was so impressive at SXSW this year in the band, Invisible Familiars. It's his deft accompaniment on these songs that shapes the texture and pulse of them, adding tension to already taut tunes. Aldous Harding's music isn't universal, but if you lean toward loving the poetic, the melodic and the mysterious, you'll likely love it.

Party is available now.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/par...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Party-Aldous-H...

Set List

"Imagining My Man"
"Blend"
"Horizon"

Musicians

Aldous Harding (guitar, vocals); Jared Elioseff (keyboard, vocals)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista; Video Editor: Bronson Arcuri; PA: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Nov. 10, 2017 | Bob Boilen --For Laura Burhenn, 2016 was a tough year and she wasn't alone. We lost David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Prince (and so many more beloved artists). And then there were the elections and subsequent inauguration, which were devastating to many. But what transpired next for anyone dismayed by those events was inspiring: The Women's March united many who were in despair, while giving purpose and focus to what for them was an unthinkable outcome in the election of Donald Trump.

Then came the songs – nine new ones Laura wrote with Patrick Damphier, inspired by the many marches around the country, listening to the news, seeing social media, talking to friends and taking it all in. The result is The Mynabirds' politically charged 2017 album Be Here Now.

I first met Laura Burhenn ten years ago for a songwriting project she did with John Davis, her then bandmate in the duo Georgie James, here at NPR called Project Song. I was thrilled to discover her talent. Her current band, The Mynabirds, are Tiny Desk alum, Laura having played her first Tiny Desk Concert in the spring of 2010.

I'm not one to repeat artists at the Tiny Desk. I'm more into discovering and challenging new bands to play in this intimate and awkward setting. But this project was so different and Laura had ideas about how to make it even more special from what she'd done back in 2010, so I couldn't resist.

While recording this album, a travel ban was issued affecting six Muslim-majority countries. She wrote a song for refugees inspired by the ban and got in touch with friends back in Omaha at the Refugee Empowerment Center. It is there she learned of the Umoja Choir whose members include resettled refugees from The Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia and they ended up singing on her record. Laura also started a GoFundMe campaign for them to record their songs. Now some of those choir members have come to the Tiny Desk for a powerful set of songs. They're joined by another Tiny Desk alum: Jessica Lea Mayfield. It's an inspired project that I'm excited to share.

Set List

"Golden Age"
"Shouting At The Dark"
"Hold On"
"Wild Hearts"

MUSICIANS

Laura Burhenn; Emily Moore; Patrick Damphier; Jessica Lea Mayfield; Diendonne Manirakiza; Michael Boggs; Eric Esron; Alexia Kauffman; Adriana-Lucia Cotes

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Niki Walker, Alyse Young, Nicholas Garbaty; Assistant Editor: Alyse Young; Production Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR

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